Modes of Explanation: Affordances for Action and Prediction

by M. Lissack (Editor), A. Graber (Editor)

Overview

Modes of Explanation is the first book in decades to attempt to bring these conflicting approaches together and to offer a compelling narrative to explore how the paradox of 'explanation' can converge.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781137406453
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan US
Publication date:	12/17/2014
Edition description:	2014
Pages:	302
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.30(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Peter Achinstein, Johns Hopkins University, USA Timothy Allen, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA Jan Faye, University of Copenhagen, Denmark Alicia Juarrero, Prince George's Community College, USA Kevin Kelly, Carnegie Mellon University, USA Zachary Kopplin, Rice University, USA Lee McIntyre, Boston University, USA Sandra Mitchell, University of Pittsburgh, USA Rukmini Bhaya Nair, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India Nancy Nersessian, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA Stanley Salthe, City University of New York, USA Beckett Sterner, University of Michigan, USA Paul Thagard, University of Waterloo, Canada Steven Wallis, Capella University, USA Jonathan Waskan, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA William Wimsatt, University of Chicago, USA Konstantin Genin, Carnegie Mellon University, USA Ian Harmon, Rice University, USA Andrew Higgins, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA Gregori Kanatzidis, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA Nathan Miller, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA Samantha Paulsen, Rice University, USA Joseph Spino, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA Edmond Ramly, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA

Table of Contents

List of Figures ix

Preface Michael Lissack Abraham Graber xiii

Acknowledgments xvii

Context

1 Introduction; Thoughts on Explanation Michael Lissack Abraham Grader 3

2 A Place in History Alicia Juarrero 17

3 The Context of Our Query Michael Lissack 25

Case Study

4 Case Study: Creationism Zack Kopplin 59

Examining the Case

5 Scientific Realism on Historical Science and Creationism Abraham Graber 75

6 A Pragmatic Constructivist Take on the Case Michael Lissack 93

Dialogue

7 Robustness and Explanation William Wimsatt 109

8 A Mode of "Epi-Thinking" Leads to the Exploration of Vagueness and Finality S. N. Salthe 115

9 Complexity, Ockham's Razor, and Truth Kevin T. Kelly Konstantin Genin 121

10 Getting a Grip Nancy J. Nersessian 133

11 Modes of Explanation: Complex Phenomena Sandra Mitchell 143

12 Narrative as a Mode of Explanation: Evolution and Emergence Rukmini Bhaya Nair 151

13 Economic Explanations Paul Thagard 161

14 Narratives and Models in Complex Systems Timothy F. H. Allen Edmond Ramly Samantha Paulsen Gregori Kanatzidis Nathan Miller 171

15 Evaluating Explanations through Their Conceptual Structures Steven Wallis 197

16 Investigating the Lay and Scientific Norms for Using "Explanation" Jonathan Waskan Ian Harmon Andrew Higgins Joseph Spino 203

Conclusion Michael Lissack Abraham Graber 215

Afterword 1 The Scientific Attitude Toward Explanation Lee McIntyre 229

Afterword 2 Explanation Revisited Jan Faye 233

Afterword 3 Is The "World Completely Intelligible? A Very Short Course Peter Achinstein 241

Afterwotd 4 Explanation and. Pluralism Beckett Sterner 249

Reprise Michael Lissack 257

References 263

Suggestions for Further Reading 285

Notes on Contributors 289

Index 295

Editorial Reviews

"The explication of explanation is one of the key themes of contemporary philosophy. It has more facets than the Kohinoor diamond and its analysis more claimants than the estate of Howard Hughes. This book endeavors to bring rational order into this complex domain by projecting a 'pragmatic constructivism' able to provide a dialectically harmonizing symbiosis of scientific realism with pragmatic contextualism. Its innovative approach is at once challenging and constructive." - Nicholas Rescher, Distinguished University Professor of Philosophy, University of Pittsburgh, USA

From the Publisher